1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an Internet facsimile apparatus and its method for transmitting image data using e-mail via a computer network such as Internet.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is conventionally proposed an Internet facsimile apparatus (hereinafter referred to as IFAX) as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. HEI8-242326 and the corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 5,881,233. An IFAX operator of a transmitting side places an original on a document plate and inputs a destination mail address from a panel control section, and depresses a start button at a transmitting time. Then, the IFAX scans each page of the original by use of a scanner, and obtains a plurality of image data. The IFAX converts these image data to e-mail, and transmit this e-mail to an IFAX of a receiving side. The IFAX of the receiving side inverse converts e-mail to image data, and prints these image data by a printer. Thus, the IFAX implements the transmission of information of paper document to a communication partner on the Internet in a manner similar to the general facsimile apparatus. At this time, a header of e-mail and a character string of a text portion are converted to image data, and printed together with image data.
The IFAX can perform the so-called broadcast transmission in which e-mail is transmitted to a plurality of destination addresses simultaneously. At this time, the IFAX arranges all addresses of broadcast transmission onto a destination field [To:] of the header of e-mail. The IFAX of the receiving side prints the header of e-mail as mentioned above. Then, if the number of addresses are extremely large (for example, more than 100), the header portions are printed more than the images and text portions, causing waste of recording papers.
Moreover, if e-mail in which all addresses of broadcast transmission are included in the destination field [To:] is sent, mail addresses of the other broadcast destination is reported to a communication partner, and this induces leakage of personal data.